Travel Green! An eco-friendly option.

Summer travel doesn’t always have to entail long airport security lines or expensive fill-ups at the pump. In fact, you can see much of the East Coast for as little as $1 ! Here’s one way…

MegaBus is a low-cost, express bus service connecting many East Coast cities via direct lines. Whether you’re headed to New York City, Boston or Washington DC, MegaBus can get you there for as little as $1 plus a .50 cents reservation fee. What’s better is that MegaBus offers free wifi so you can watch a movie, catch up on email or – write a blog post while you ride like me! Today’s trip started bright and early at 6:35 a.m. in Pittsburgh, PA and will find me in the City of Brotherly Love, Philadelphia, just in time for lunch for a grand total of $6.50 (different routes and purchase dates before travel affect the ticket price much like budget air travel).

MegaBus doesn’t just appeal to the avid budget traveler in me, but also to my green consciousness. Stage Coach Group, the parent company of MegaBus, is a leading international transportation group, operating bus, train, tram, and express coach operations in the UK, United States and Canada. Their slogan, “greener, smarter travel,” speaks to a new generation of travelers who are concerned about maintaining the quality of the very places they are going to visit for generations to come.

Stage Coach Group’s website not only addresses climate change, but includes their CSR policy, Sustainability Plan and their own carbon footprint concerns under a page entitled, “Our Responsibilities.” A corporation that addresses its responsibilities up front and in depth, as well as helps me save money and decrease my own carbon footprint; now that’s a corporation I can get on board with, quite literally.

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About the Author

Emily DeMasi Emily McKinin DeMasi is a 2011 MBA/ MA Public Policy candidate and Peace Corps Fellow at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, PA. Her thesis work concerns Corporate Social Responsibility in the United States. She also works as a Research Fellow at Bridgeway Capital, a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) in downtown Pittsburgh. Emily has worked as an Associate in a Private Equity Placement Firm in NY and as a Water and Sanitation Volunteer in Ivory Coast, West Africa. She hopes to combine her business background with her passion for development and inspire others in the fields of Sustainability and CSR.

lorraine

MegaBus,
the idea of inexpensive transportation, no long security lines, no two hour before departure arrival, plus Wifi, is a wonderful alternative mode of travel. I would like to know how the company is able to keep their fares so low while sustaining excellent quality in their buses?

lorraine

MegaBus,
the idea of inexpensive transportation, no long security lines, no two hour before departure arrival, plus Wifi, is a wonderful alternative mode of travel. I would like to know how the company is able to keep their fares so low while sustaining excellent quality in their buses?

Mike

I love megabus! Proof that a green socially responsible business model can work BETTER than traditional ways of travel such as amtrak and greyhound. THe last few times I've taken greyhound it was obviously more ethan a dollar, inefficient, smelly, NO WIFI. Megabus is comfortable and fun to travel on the upper deck. What's more, if for $1 you can travel with free wifi, why can't amtrak, with their exorbitant and sometimes very speculative service, have wifi on their routes? THis is proof that the free market is the place for change to start. THe world will change with OUR wallets!

Mike

I love megabus! Proof that a green socially responsible business model can work BETTER than traditional ways of travel such as amtrak and greyhound. THe last few times I've taken greyhound it was obviously more ethan a dollar, inefficient, smelly, NO WIFI. Megabus is comfortable and fun to travel on the upper deck. What's more, if for $1 you can travel with free wifi, why can't amtrak, with their exorbitant and sometimes very speculative service, have wifi on their routes? THis is proof that the free market is the place for change to start. THe world will change with OUR wallets!

Chris

This is something I was not aware of but will most likely try this mode of transportation very soon. Thank you for the info!

Chris

This is something I was not aware of but will most likely try this mode of transportation very soon. Thank you for the info!

eddie d

eddie d , wow 1$ just arrived home traveled from boston to orlando, yep long lines traffic and not 1$ . this bus service should be in all the larg cities maybe all over the country.

eddie d

eddie d , wow 1$ just arrived home traveled from boston to orlando, yep long lines traffic and not 1$ . this bus service should be in all the larg cities maybe all over the country.

I took Megabus from San Francisco to Los Angeles two years ago and loved it. The trip was very quick, pleasant and inexpensive. Although it seems like the company has since ceased operating in California. Is this true?

Emily DeMasi

Thanks for the comment Rhonda! Here’s what I found out regarding its CA operations as of October 2008 –
“Megabus, known for offering bus fares as low as $1, has quietly ended service along its U.S. West Coast routes,” according to Suite101.com.

When asked for a comment, Dale Moser, president and COO of megabus.com, offered the following statement to Suite101 Budget Travel:

“Due to ridership growth trends, megabus.com no longer serves the West Coast. We take megabus.com to different markets and try to create positive ridership trends and if we can’t we move on to new markets. As megabus.com’s service continues to thrive in the Midwest and the Northeast megabus.com looks forward to the possibility of returning to the West Coast should there be adequate demand.”

I took Megabus from San Francisco to Los Angeles two years ago and loved it. The trip was very quick, pleasant and inexpensive. Although it seems like the company has since ceased operating in California. Is this true?

Emily DeMasi

Thanks for the comment Rhonda! Here’s what I found out regarding its CA operations as of October 2008 –
“Megabus, known for offering bus fares as low as $1, has quietly ended service along its U.S. West Coast routes,” according to Suite101.com.

When asked for a comment, Dale Moser, president and COO of megabus.com, offered the following statement to Suite101 Budget Travel:

“Due to ridership growth trends, megabus.com no longer serves the West Coast. We take megabus.com to different markets and try to create positive ridership trends and if we can’t we move on to new markets. As megabus.com’s service continues to thrive in the Midwest and the Northeast megabus.com looks forward to the possibility of returning to the West Coast should there be adequate demand.”